The two founders of a one-stop online bridal shop tell Nicholas King how they ventured into the industry
NOT surprisingly, the stressful task of planning one’s wedding seems to fall mainly on the shoulders of the women in the family. According to the do-it- yourself online planning website Planyourwedding.com.my, about 90 per cent of its 150,000 monthly users are women.
Those who wish for the perfect wedding will soon find the going tough.
The men behind Malaysia’s No.1 wedding site can attest to the experience. Co-founder and IT manager of Planyourwedding Ross Affandy, 34, found wedding planning an overwhelming experience.
“Not too long ago, I helped plan a family member’s wedding. I soon began to ask myself why anyone should go through so much trouble for just one day. I couldn’t understand all the fuss and hassle.” says Ross.
“To make things worse, there’s also the hassle of finding the right people for the job. Catalogues aren’t comprehensive, making choices limited. And the time and effort it takes to hunt for even one preferred wedding planner makes it all the more an unenviable task.”
“So we both got together and discussed the potential of using our background in IT, to place more vendors into a single location,” says co-founder and manager Teoh Weng Foo, 27.
Ross and Teoh knew that the wedding industry was a big deal. The problem was that they knew next to nothing about it. Relying on the experience gained from their time at online car web listing Carlist.my, the two were focused on easing the burden of others.
The successful formula of Planyourwedding.com.my lies in the simple combination of vendor listings, information sourcing and a nifty quotation service that drastically halves the core issues of wedding planning: Constant change of budget and time spent vendor hunting.
“Users of our site have access to a quotation system — by mentioning what they require with their preferred budget, their quotation will then be instantaneously sent out to vendors for immediate feedback. You can also view the vendor’s portfolio and pricing on the spot.”
“No matter what your budget, there will be someone who will respond,” Teoh adds.
AIDING THE INDUSTRY
The site is essentially a platform for the wedding industry, the duo explained.
“You have businesses that want to reach out to clients but just don’t have the venue to do it. Our service will give them that very much needed access to potentials,” says Teoh.
“We have 150,000 visitors a month and are extremely versatile in the business sense. We already have about 1,700 listed vendors and it is growing by the day. On average we are growing about 100 vendors a month.
“As vendors and industry participants personally respond to queries, it creates a very interpersonal and friendly environment with little pressure and hassle,”
“We get our vendors through reference, personally contacting them or through invite,” says Ross. The quotation requests that are automatically sent to the vendors and the free listing means vendors don’t have to pay unless they want to be featured at the top of the list.
“For now our service is free. For those who want to be given feature priority, we plan to include an annual paid service if you want to boost your presence on the site.
“The wedding industry is a tech savvy one and everyone is very independent,” says Ross, further explaining how the website merely streamlines an already motivated industry.
WFOSTERING HEALTHY MARRIAGE
Planyourwedding.my is also an assist tool for newlyweds. With the ease of budgeting and finding the right elements to make the perfect wedding day, Ross and Teoh also use the site as a one — stop point for couples to both enhance and maintain a healthy and romantic relationship.
“At our age, most of our friends are getting married or have plans to do so,” says Teoh. The big issue is they may not be informed of the fundamental that goes on before, during and after a wedding.
“When it comes to wedding woes, the big issue is that for the most parts, couples just don’t know what they want or how to deal with it. The featured articles on the website are aimed at aiding them through the unknown.”
“We hope to get couples all the help to ensure an everlasting unity.”
“We see wedding planning as an ‘obstacle’ for many and this is one way to ease their burden,” says Ross. “The next step is to have a personal checklist for users — a step by step itinerary for these future grooms and brides, to adjust their budget and needs accordingly while eliminating what isn’t needed.”
“We have one clear goal, and that is to make the entire wedding planning experience easy and seamless,” says Teoh.
AIM FOR NO.1, ALWAYS
“We are determined to remain as No.1 in our online venture of the wedding scene. By year’s end, we hope to reach 2,000 listed vendors with almost 100,000 in ideas for content on the site.”
“If we are to branch out, we will focus on parenting. We want our business to be community centred.”
“We are doing this for our future too if and when the time comes for us to get married,” says Ross. “We are essentially our own users and clients.”
After all said and done, the two are still tickled at the thought of venturing into the industry and making it work. “You won’t believe how many calls we get, especially from friends, with regard to wedding consultation now even if that’s not exactly our specialty,” says Teoh.
“We still can’t believe it but here we are doing this,” laughs Ross.
About the founders:
Ross Affandy
Prior to Planyourwedding.my, Affandy spent years in developing and maintaining high traffic websites like Travelblog.org and Carlist.my.
Teoh Weng Foo
A former employee of Carlist.my, he led the expansion of Carlist.my to the northern and southern regions of Malaysia.